Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) was 71.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 71.7%.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 75.9% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 69.9%, in 2020.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 11th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 75.3% | — |
| 1992 | 75.4% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 75.3% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 75.4% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 75.7% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 75.8% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 75.9% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 75.8% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 75.5% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 75.3% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 75.3% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 75.2% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 75.1% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 75.1% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 75.0% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 74.9% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 74.7% | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 74.5% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 74.1% | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 73.6% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 73.7% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 73.3% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 73.6% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 73.0% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 72.6% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 72.3% | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 71.8% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 71.5% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 71.2% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 69.9% | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 70.1% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 71.3% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 71.9% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 71.8% | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 71.7% | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 75.6% | 75.3% | 75.9% | 9 |
| 2000s | 74.9% | 74.1% | 75.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.7% | 71.2% | 73.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 71.1% | 69.9% | 71.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 8 Madagascar 85.6% compare
- 9 Bahrain 85.5% compare
- 10 Solomon Islands 84.9% compare
- 11 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 83.8% compare
- 12 Uganda 82.7% compare
- 13 Nigeria 82.4% compare
- 14 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 82.2% compare
More work & labour data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 239,462 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 70.23 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 564,978 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.5 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 5.73 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 11,723 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 4,279 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 66.21 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 3.04 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 2.92 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa was 71.7% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 75.9% in 1997.
- What is the lowest employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.9% in 2020.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%)?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 11th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed.